This is the paid service we recommend. https://www.mycreditguy.com/

I can refer you through my link or you can go directly above. Please reply with all contact info for the referral or do my loan app, link in signature below.

If I refer you I’ll get updated on your progress. We can update Susan too if you authorize her to see your credit progress.

Credit Karma and Experian.com have a (I think it’s free if they charge something I did not notice) credit builder account where you send a small monthly amount and they report it to credit and when it hits $500 you can withdraw and continue on. Or keep it in there as savings. I am testing this on myself now. It’s meant to improve or rebuild credit.

The mycreditguy service has something similar they recommend as well.

Free services also have score simulators that work fairly well. I keep free accounts at all reputable credit services. This is a good place to get pre-approved card offers – unsecured or secured.

Moving credit card debt to a personal loan with SoFI.com or other reputable unsecured loan company can give a good boost as well if you can get approved for a better fixed rate than your cards.There should be no cost except the fixed monthly payments for this.  Fixed Installment loans don’t lower scores like revolving credit card balance increases do. A 401K loan through your company retirement plan works well for this too.

This can have a similar result as paying off cards suddenly with cash. Big boost if that’s all you need. Expect high rates but fixed for 24 to 60 months and must be 40% to 50% better than interest on cards to make sense. This can be risky if you charge your cards up again now you owe double. Please be careful if you try this strategy.

Tractor supply (citi) and Home Depot were a little easier to get approved for unsecured credit than Chase or Wells Fargo for example. I’m doing the get more limits and don’t max out any more cards now until I can pay all off in a few months.

Secured credit cards work well when they are with a brand name bank or credit union. Watch for scams in this area and only use well known secured cards. Get one for 1500 and put 50 a month in gas then pay it all off each month. Score will rise in 3-6 months. If you can do this 3 times you are all set.

If your issue is carrying card balances once you pay down to zero but leave it open you’ll gain 50-100 points. Do this with all cards. Maxed out cards and recent late payments or collections are the main factors that lower scores. Increasing limits or paying down balances can have an amazing effect on credit.

Don’t close old positative accounts even if they have an annual fee. Keep these near zero balance.

We can approve mortgages down to 580 mid scores with 3.5% down and lower with 10% or more down. You just need a few good references with a 12 month history – on credit or alternate accounts. Netflix and stuff like that can work as alternate credit if you have 12-24 months of consistent payments. 12 months of rent history helps offset credit issues and counts as one of the three needed references.

Many old collections or medical accounts do not count in your score – do not pay off old accounts unless a very experienced lender or credit professional asks you to. Paying old accounts brings report date (DLA = date of last activity) current and can mess up efforts to fix credit. If DLA is more than 2 years old get advice before paying off or even talking to collections people.

Fixing DLA errors can also help – you need a credit pro to do this. Or you can do it through a dispute process.

This is all stuff I have done on my personal credit. It has always worked for me.

When my cards are near zero I have a 740 score. When they are maxed out it drops to as low as 580 and slowly climbs as I make minimum payments. As soon as I pay off and leave all accounts open it goes back up – slower than it drops but still pretty quick.

Credit has been this way for me for about 9 years now. Never any late payments, only large and sudden spending spikes for advertising and personal expenses every once in a while. You learn a lot when your score goes up and down like a yo yo.

Now that I have tested on myself I can recommend to clients try the credit offer on Tractor Supply website, it really works. They run you for two cards with only one credit pull. I got the store card for 2K which I never plan to put more than 100 in charges on here to boost my scores. I did not get the other card, a Visa because my other Visas are maxed out at the moment.

20 years ago I published an e book on amazon about credit scores. It was good info but terribly written. Maybe I’ll try again with this guide but hire a writer to fix my work this time.

Hopefully this was helpful. Please provide some feedback as I plan to put this in my Home Buyer workshops.

Why we’re writing to you
Welcome! You have been approved for a TSC® Store Card account. Your card will arrive within the next several days.
Here’s what you should know
While you were approved for the TSC® Store Card account, as part of the application process, you were first evaluated for one or
more other card(s) as disclosed in the application materials you received at the time of application. You were declined for the
TSC® Visa® Credit Card card(s) due to the following reason(s):
• Ratio of balance to limit on bank revolving or other revolving accounts too high
• Lack of recent installment loan information
• Length of time accounts have been established
• Time since most recent account opening is too short
Our credit decision was based, in whole or in part, on information obtained in a report from the following consumer reporting
agency:
Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013-0036
1-888 EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
Please note, other than providing information, the reporting agency played no part in our decision and is unable to supply the
specific reasons why we made our credit decision.
Free copy of your credit report
You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file at the consumer
reporting agency. We encourage you to review your credit report for accuracy.
You also have a right to a free copy of your credit report from the consumer reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60
days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in your report is inaccurate or
incomplete, you have a right to dispute the matter with the consumer reporting agency listed above.

One more thing.I know you did not ask for any of this but you mentioned credit and this guide was on my todo list.